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nELIA

nHe'd stared at her when she spoke, his eyes wide as if he was afraid of what she might say. But when she begged him to let go, to just give himself without fear of hurting her, to unleash, something inside him snapped. She felt it go. Felt him… detonate.

nHe flipped her onto her back, one hand cradling her head, the other at her back, and reared over her, positioning himself so his hips immediately pressed against her as a low growl rolled out of his throat. She gasped and arched as the pressure pushed the seams of her pants against her so hard, she trembled. She reached for him and her hand slapped on his shoulder as he rolled into her again, growling her name.

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"Reth, I—

"

nBut he took her mouth, an invasion more than a kiss, his head turned to let their mouths align completely and his tongue danced and plunged. Elia sucked in and arched again, as desperate as he was.

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"Let me take off my—

"

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"No!

" he gasped.

"Let me.

" And before she could even answer, he'd taken hold of the top of her blouse and pulled it apart, so hard and fast the fabric tore. Elia gasped, but clung to his neck, pulling herself up and into him until they were chest to chest. For a moment he pressed her down, into the soft ground beneath the blanket and she wallowed in the weight of him, his huge arm braced on the ground next to her ear.

nBut even as he groaned at the delicious slide of their skins, he unlocked her hands from his neck and pulled them up, one by one, above her head, grasping her wrists in one hand, pinning them there as sure any manacle. Then he raised himself up, the muscles of his arm and shoulder bunching in delicious ways as he loomed over her.

nShe whimpered at the loss of contact, but he stared at her, open-mouthed and rasped her name, his hair falling over his face, his beautiful body tensed and poised. For her. She knew. A breath of wind fluttered over her bare chest and her sensitive skin pebbled. His eyes raked down the length of her and he made that call that came from so deep within, the very ground seemed to tremble with it. She could feel it vibrate in his chest and wished she could call back to him.

nBut when she opened her mouth to tell him that, he took it again, just a quick possession, then, with one hand still braced over her head, holding her wrists, he started down, his free hand exploring every dip and curve of her, as he slid against her skin and she arched again.

nThen, just as he mimicked what she'd done to him by stroking his thumb over her nipple on one side, he laid his mouth to the other and sucked once, then again. Then he set his teeth around her and the pressure—so much pleasure, so close to pain—made her cry his name. He growled in response and rolled his hips again.

nFrantic minutes of her gasping and aching, his mouth on hers, on her neck, on her breasts, his free hand everywhere on her skin, but never below her waist. And the fire, the fire reaching higher, until she was drumming her heels with frustration.

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"Reth, please!

"

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"What do you want, Elia?

" he rasped, rolling his hips again so that she couldn't breathe.

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"You!

"

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"Me, what?

"

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"Inside me! Please!

"

nHe muttered something that sounded like a curse against her neck, but didn't stop rolling into her. She was beginning to tremble, from head to toe, her hands jerking against his restraint, her feet peddling with the desperation she felt to have him closer, deeper.

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"Please!

"

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"Shhhh,

" he shushed her and took her mouth again, swallowing her cries as he thrust against her, but the barrier of their clothing just made it a delicious tease that threatened to steal her sanity.

nHe kept it up, the rolling and stroking of hands and tongue, until she sobbed his name.

nThen, as if it were a signal, he huffed the mating call in the same moment he released her but flipped her over.

nBefore she could even begin to prop herself up, she heard the jingle of his belt and as she turned to look, to see him, to reassure herself that he was really going to do it this time, he had the waistband of her pants in both hands and he'd torn them at the seam, then pressed her back to the ground as he kissed his way down her spine, right to the base, rolling himself, stroking her, his hands over her and under her, grasping, and kneading at her breasts until she was afraid she would come apart and he hadn't even entered her.

nHe was curled over her, his mouth at her neck, his hands on her breasts, his chest against her back, and she whimpered and pushed herself back to bump into him and he slid against her.

nShe saw stars, already so close to her climax that she couldn't breathe.

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"Reth, please!

"

nWith a growl, he knelt behind her, grabbed at the ruined pants and peeled them of her in one long slide, then… nothing.

nElia found herself, face down on the blanket, her hair in her face, her breath heaving and him behind her but not moving. Had someone found them?

nPanicked, she whipped her head around to look at him over her shoulder.

"What—?

"

nBut he was kneeling between her knees, a look of awe on his face, and as she turned he moaned,

"Elia, dear Lord!

" through his teeth, and plunged into her.

nShe sucked in to scream at the sheer pleasure of it—the full, long, slide of him that crackled through her like electricity, lighting up every vein and muscle, prickling her skin from head to toe. But before she could let out a sound, Reth clapped one hand over her mouth, whispering

"Quiet!

" in her ear in an amused rasp. Then his other massive hand spread between her breasts as a counter-balance as he pulled her up and back, onto him, until he sat and she rode his rolling hips, his chest at her back, his lips and teeth at her neck.

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"Reth, oh, Reth,

" she moaned.

nHe was relentless, rolling into her hard, but holding the peak for seconds before he pulled back and the pressure was lost. He used one hand to hold her weight so she could reach back and have her hands in his hair, on his shoulders. And with the other, he reached forward to find where they met, sliding his fingers against her even has he moved within her.

nShe sucked in and held her breath.

nOnce, twice, three times, then she shattered with a guttural moan that would have done any Leonine proud.

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